Loose-leaf book construction



Nov. 23, 1943. M. VERNON LOOSE LEAF BOOK CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 23, 1943 INVENpR ma BY 6 7; g?

A O NEY retained in position in th e book.

Patented Nov. 23, 1943, v

s em-tenet; rom

,tttuetittiahesm This invention reletes senereiiy to loo eleei binders. andmore particular y-whose lea nder construction which;while'lpossessiue the 515512661 properties of permitting. pa es'tobe inserted,

' withdrawn, orchenged position is easily and economicelly fabricated of non=criticalu mate rials. y '5 v V 1" Amongthe principn'liobjects of thepresent in-.

1 new Ye mig. Neu Qrk Q H assighor to sis-E.

-i& ,vernonplnct, New

s, sls fi I 413L105. J l woman's: (come-g2; 1

ventionlies the provision ofloose leaf note book 7 construction iniwhich no metal pai'ts'need'be used. 7

structure of the vclass described in whichl-the rings may be independently operated by a; simple manual motion eithertozau open position (when sheets may be inserted or withdrawn) ,ror

Another obj'ectherein liesin the' provision of i to a closedposition'in which, barring rupture of the sheets themselves the sheets are A still further object of the-'present 'invention lies in the provision of a: lonseileaf notebook of the ring bindertype of construction in which a.

kind of snap actiontis ohtain'ed'withoutthe use of springs as such.

A feature of the inventionliesin the may have a consequent Wide sale and distribution of the note book so that thenotebook :rneirfbe composed of any desired materials These ob jects Otheriincidental endsand, advantages will more fully appear in the progress of sid selo uree d 1I Q utedeutinlthe eppended claims,

" In, the drewinghsimilar reference chareters indi ate corresponding parts, thr u hout the set-- eral'views of the embodiment, which; is shown;

Figure 1 is: agview in Derspectivecf agn e'mbodu.

ment of the'injvention j I v y Figure 2 is. an enlarged sectionalyiew of Figure 1 as seen from'theplene lsl-l onflFigureylw. In

this view thebottom ring has loe'enjremoyed'.

Figure 3, is an elevational view, partly in section as seen from the left. of Figure 2.

i e 4 i a se tie el-iv e nt the supp rt @1411 ment as seen fron -l theplane 4-;-4 on Figure 21,-;

Figure 5 is a sectional View of the support l'ement as seen frotnthe planefi fl QIJ EiguI'B Fi re 64sec enlarg d. 86st? 1 view as een f om e pla e fie en fieur at v .l eu e 715 518W ksns n ellr similarly: o

A further'feature of theeresentmvenuon lies v in the fact that the support element and *1finfgs are operable-sis a unit' independentlyof the coyer securely siniplel low cost manufacture thereof so thetrthejsamc 1 Turning now to the Figure 6 but shows tie e eof-V zFieure 8: 5 niewlift k n era y m le ir;

fa. front cover 2t, a rear cover 22, a, rear member or saddle 23; a support element 24 and ringsi-Ea, only one of which-is shown. v I l saddle 23 may he of any suitable construction well known in the-gart; such as stifi; cardboard covered byclcth, artificial leather, and so forth. The covers 21' and .2 2 are thus hingedlyycolmected "to the rearjmember 2:3 aiong the hinged portions 2! and 28. While in the illustration'in' the drawing of an embodiment of the invention-the device is illustrated as having two rings; ittwill "be obviousto thosejskilled in thje art'to which thepr'esent invention relatesthat anydesired number of ringsmay be "used in any desired inter'spacixigI l The rear member 23 is preierebly slightly "curved to produce a convex outerjsurface 29 and gree of, ooncavityof the surfacetfl preterably "substantially conforms to ,lthe cont exity of the re er or inner surface 31 of thefs'upport element '2 111 su o elem nt. 24 1S n i b r hated by any suitable material suchwas e'ljstrip oihard Woodand the front or normally exposed surface thereof indicated, jbyyl l fi eral 32 is Ipreferably of c1QnVeX configuration, The support element 26 is preferably not aslong asthe rear member 2'3.

The support element M'is provided with a. pluralityhof chennel s fiii, osmany channels as there are rings. The charinels are 01, uniform corrstruction which isbest eenin. Figures 4 and 6; to V inclusiye Byreason ofthe feet that the chem 'nels 3;; erect uniform construction, a. detailed description of one w ll Suffice tor elh A channel 33 has side, walls 3 1: and 35-,en angular top wall 3ft enna an apex rtprojection 39, a d sloping bottom walls 31- and 38. Theside walls 34 and 35, of the channel-33 support the ring in a, sub- "sta nt eyq u r ht p i n th is t e rthe pend-iculaifltofl the surface 321 of 1 the support elementzflt- The sloping bottom walls t l -and 38 support the ring underneath the samewhilethe upper surface of the. enclosed portion of the ring is supported by the top wall at at andadiacent i the parts in ;posi- I emhodiznentoithe inyenv t-ion-as illustrated in Figures 1 to 8 inclusive, the .devicegenerally indicated by; numeral 20 includes V viously described. 1

. to apex 39 as will be more fully described hereinbelow. p j I One method of-gforming the channel 33 contemplates the placing in the support element 24 of a pairof juxtaposed bores 50 and St (see Fig- -ure 4). These bores are preferably placed by the use of suitable jigs and in the embodimentshown,

' 7 they aref'plaoedsubstantially atr25 with' relation 1 to the horizontal. '.The drill .usednis preferably 1 slightly greater in diameter than the cross section of. the ring, and the intersection of these, I two'bores produces a desired 'configurationim H cluding the variouswalls and the'projec'tions pie The support element 24 in the rear member and the support element 24 respectively. v. p 1 o "l'herings 25 are. substantially identical 'and therefore adescription"lif orieiwill sufficeffor all.

A ring25*includes a' slieet carrying -portion 42 and a retainer portion 43. The ring 25 is pref- 'erably of uniformcurvature lying along the-cir cumference of a true jcircle Forthe purposes of: this description the sheet carrying portion is generallyconsidered asthat visiblein Figures 2 and-.3, while the retainer portion is that disposed within the confines-of-the support element in Figure 6." Thus the erlds of the sheet carrying portionifiz run into the adjoining ends of" the retainer portion. 7 The retainer portion 43 is preferably splittransversely and medially to form the ringterminals lfi and 41. The ring terminals .are -preferably rounded or in -'the shape of a'squat cone or. spaced from each other. Such construction is for thepurpose of. formingan indentation in the retainerportion 43 for the purpose of engaging {the apex or projection 39.

This resultmaybe accomplished either byspac- 1 ing the terminals 146 and llor by rounding them,

or giving them a conical configuration; or by both spacing and rounding. v

Th i -i s lf, is Prei i'ab c e i of aresilient material as, for example, cellulose acetate.

Obviously the ring-m l be composed. of other materials as thermoplasticor thermosetting-plas tics which are well known. The/ring may be molded in the shape, shown" or it maybe formed upi under heat and pressurejin "suitable dies and/or jigs. .i v Since the rings .arecornposed of resilient material thetermin'als thereof maybe temporarily separated sufiicientlyyso that they may be in- ;serted within the entrances to the channel 33.

V i I Operation 7 g y As presently understood: the operationoi the device 20 i s-substantially as follows. The rings are preferably constructed so that at any point they are "of substantially uniform 1 cross section.

As may be seen from aperusal ofthedrawing;' the channel 33 is ofirreg'ular configuration; though the "configuration issyrnmetrical on either side of the central longitudinal axis" of the support element 24 'By" reason ofthe apex or projection 39 the .efict ar aonstriction in; the centerfoi' the "channel is produoed,--'or-at leastthe apex'or projection'eXtends-into theothei'wis'e unobstruct V i ed circular path of travel of I the 1 ring when rotated. This obstructionjfinds a dead center posi tion of rest whenit projects downwardly between the terminals 46 and 41 of the ring 25. V

j j dr re menl l. 23 are fixedly securedjtogether at any time during the fabrication of the devicetfl, byany suit able means suchas for example, therivets 52 n which engage suitable aligned orifices lfl and. 4|;

' .linear-positionthereoffon Figure '7. As the terminal. of' the ringipasses the-p'ro'jeof tion a certain snapping action'isfelt and the ring V will take the position shown in Figure 7. Thering maythen be rotated in the direction ofiarfv rows ;B"and\B'.J on Figures 6 and 7 respectively through substantially 180 soithat the ring will The last described positionof the ring is seen' in Figure 6. In this position the exposed part ,of the ring sheet carrying portion 42 is continu ous and obviously, orificed sheets such as the sheet 6!! cannot be removed without damaging;

the sheet. Movement of the ring 25 either clockwise or counter-clockwise is inhibited by-the deformity, recess or depressionof thering'disposed between the terminals "46' and 5T;"as",previous1y, described. In order for such clockwise or counter clockwise rotation to occur the1terminal 41' i or the terminaleii must be moved pastthe pro- I jection 39. {?I'l1is passage beyond the projection 2' will require flexureof the portions ofthe ring adjacent the particular termin'als thereof. A

I prefer-red method of causing rotation lies in first applying lateral pressure in the direction oftheiarrowA on'Figure 6; assuming that the rotation is PO IbB in a counter clockwise direction. This movement causes. the terminal 46 to flex down-' f weirdly-slightly and enables it to pass-the proj'eo- 5 tion 39; 'in the direction of" the; arrow Af. The terminal "of the ring thus assumes a "-le'ss f take a position shown in Figure 8. This portion of rotation, after. the flexing has occurred, is rela tiv'elyhfree but may be inhibitedby agslightfrictionalvrubbing uponthe. ringof the projection 33 and'.t.he bottom walls 31: and 38. Thisfriction mayrbeiadj'usted by anoes involved; i

YWhen the ring. is'in thenosition indicated by the full lines on Figure 8,;it becomes a relatively simple matter to separaterfthe-terminals 46 and t! i to the dot-dash po-sitionitheresshown. This'seh aration is. accomplished by moving the exposed ringlport'ions'in the directions of thearrows 'C and D.

syAfter the-desired sheets have'ibeen' removedor f replaced;. thereversalof theposition of' the ring g 9 25;from that shown in'Figure Stothat shown in i Figure'G requires a reversal of the previouslyd e; 1 scribed steps, or-moreparticularlmtheimere re- I tation through substantially l in the direction of either thearrowp-or the'arrowp In the hereinabov'e described embodiment of the invention, resiliency of certain of the parts is. de sirable for convenient operation.' Whilethe resiliencyef the ring zepermits properoperation a slightlyeasier operation isobtained -whenthepart'sof the support element are slightly resilient;

especially the projection 39 and thejbottomwalls 3 1 and I 38. I have found that the jsupportelee mentfpierfornis satisfactorily w e com eam V wood and where desired the bearingsurfaces within the channels may be lubricated withwaxl' I It may thus be seen that t me provided novel H anduseful. loose-leaf; notebook binder constructions which are eliicient in use and economical in manufacture.

I wish it to I clai ,7 comprisingz a support element'having a'channel;

a stationary'projection in sai d'channel; a -resili ent ring including a 'sheet carrying portion and a slightly relievingethe; clear 7 V V bejunderstood jthat Id'o not desire o to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described; for obvious mod. W

- will occur to a erson skilled in'the art-Y ii A rbase-marten fer us with orificed sh setd retainer portion which is discontinuous; said re-f silient ring being movably disposed Within said 7 channel and having adepression adaptedto be ing means'formingaprojection alternately engageable'or disengageable Within said depression as'the ring is moved; said projection acting to engaged by said stationary projection; said resili ent ring being distortable suff ciently to pass around saidprojection as the ring is annularly rotated.

2. A loose-leaf binder constructionfor use with a plurality of orificed sheets, comprising: a resili- V ent ring including asheet carrying portion and a retainer portion which is discontinuous, forming ring terminals; a ring carrying channel through which'said ring may have continuous-annular movement, said ring having a predetermined nor,-

mal path of travel; a projection having an angularly arranged face disposed within the channel and fixed in position with relation thereto, said projection extending into said path of travel of said ring and being engageable between saidring terminals; said resilient ring flexing out of its normalannular path of travel to passsaid pro jection; said angularly arranged face being adapted to be engaged by one of said terminals so that the flexure of the ring therebyrequires a reduced rotating force.

3. A loose-leaf book binder construction for use with a plurality of orificed sheets, comprising: a resilient ring including a sheet carrying portion and a retainer portion which is discontinuous forming a pair of ring terminals; a ring carrying channel through which said ring may have continuous annular -movement, said ring having a predetermined normal path of travel;

inhibit movement of the ring through said channel when the projection is in engagement with said depression; said resilient ring being temporarily distortable as it flexes to pass around the projection; said terminalsbeing temporarily separable from each otherfor placing or. removing said sheets on or off said ring by flexure of said resilient ring;

5. A loose-leaf book for use with. orificed sheets, comprising: a support element having a a channel; a stationary projection in said channel;

a resilient ring including a sheet carrying portion and a retainer portion which is discontinuous; said ring having a'pair of oppositely disposed terminals each having an angular surface; said resilient ring being movably disposed a wedge shaped projection disposed within the channel and fixed in positionwith relation thereto, said projection having a pair of oppositely disposed and angularly arranged faces extending into the normal path of travel of said ring and being engageable between said ring terminals; said resilient ring being distortable out of its normal annular path of travel to pass said projection; one of said angularly arranged faces being adapted to engage one of said terminals and the other of said angularly arranged faces being adapted to engage the other of said terminals; whereby rotation of the resilient ring in its normal path of travel will cause one of the angularly arranged faces to'move one of the terminals out of its normal path of travelby awedging action.

4. A loose-leaf bookconstruction for use with a plurality oforificed sheetspcomprisirrg: are- 1 silent ring including a sheet carrying portion and a discontinuousretainer portion having a pair of independent terminals; said ring having 7 means forming a depression thereon in the retainer portion thereof; a. channel within which the ring is annularly movable ;'said channel havannularly rotated.

theangular face on said projection so as to dey said projection.

within said channel, saidterminals being adapted to engage said projection; whereby annular movement of said ring in said channel will cause the projection to coact with one of the angular surfaces to deflect the terminal upon which it is disposed and thereby distort the ring so that it may pass the obstruction formed by the said projection.

6. A loose-leaf book construction'for use with orificed sheets, comprising: a support element having a channel which is formed by a pair of juxtaposed intersecting bores axiallydisaligned,

the portion of said support element disposed at the intersection of said bores forming a stationary projection in said channel; a resilient ring including a sheet carrying portion and a retainer portion; said resilient ring being movably disposed within said channel and'having a depression adapted to beengaged by said projection; said resilient ring being sufliciently flexible to enable-it to be temporarily distorted so that it may pass around said projection as the ring is LA loose-leaf book for use with orificedsheets, comprising: a support element having a channel; a stationary projection in said channel,

said projection having an angular face; a resilient 'ring including a sheet carrying portion and a retainer portion which is discontinuous forming a pair of terminals each having rounded end; said resilient ring being movably disposed in said channel; one ofsaid terminals having the rounded end thereof adapted to coact with flect the flexible ring so that it may pass by MURRAY VERNON. 

